Flexor digiti minimi brevis - ...

Muscle parts

None

Latin name

Musculus flexor digiti minimi brevis (pes)

Latin muscle parts

None

Group

Foot muscle – plantar group – third layer

Etymology

In English this muscle’s name is the short muscle that bends the little toe. The word flexor comes from the Latin flectere meaning “to bend.”The term digiti is from the Latin digitus, which originally meant the “pointing thing,” a term that is similar to the Sanskrit word “dic” meaning to show or point out. Because we point with our fingers the term was applied to the fingers and then the toes.The term minimus is Latin for “least or smallest.” Its use in this instance is in reference to the fact that the muscle attaches to the smallest toe of the foot. Brevis is the Latin term meaning “short.” This is being used as a comparative reference to a longer muscle that does the same thing.

Origin

Medial plantar surface at the base of the fifth metatarsal bone.

Insertion

Base of the proximal phalanx of the little toe on the lateral side.

Action

Flexion of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the little toe.

Nerve supply

Lateral plantar nerve (S2 and S3)

Blood supply

Small branches from the lateral tarsal arteries and the digital branch of the lateral plantar artery supply the muscle.